Lippi hits out at Italy's style critics

Italy coach Marcello Lippi expects his side to prove their critics wrong when they take on Ukraine in Friday's World Cup quarter-final in Hamburg.

"I have read in recent days that Italian football is old, retrograde, and I feel that this is an exaggeration," said Lippi.
"For one year now, Europe and the rest of the world have recognised that we play a modern style of football and they said so after our opening game against Ghana.
"To say certain things after only two or three games seems an exaggeration."
Lippi was furious with reports suggesting Italy have been lucky so far in the tournament.
"Fortune? I have had Totti out for three months before the World Cup," said Lippi.
"We have had to deal with the match-fixing scandal in our nation and to make matters worse, I've had (Gianluca) Zambrotta, (Gennaro) Gattuso and (Alessandro) Nesta injured in Germany.
"I guess I have been fortunate!"
"It's not true that we have reached our potential limit," said Lippi. "Totti has fully recovered and (forward Luca) Toni is doing well in training.
"If we win on Friday, anything can happen.